Method and system for providing social search and connection services with a social media ecosystem

ABSTRACT

A method and system for social media ecosystem searching. A desired person can be searched for from public search engines and social media sites directly by name and/or by unique search keywords and search categories created and publically published by the desired person, a social media index of the desired person or a social commerce connection associated with the desired person. The search results are publically viewable. However, communication with the desired person located within the social media ecosystem is via a private system in which a searcher must provide login information to privately communicate with the desired person. The private system helps ensure that social media index values and social commerce connections are properly established, recorded and updated for the desired person and provides a layer of security and privacy. The social media searching ecosystem is provided on a cloud communications network for mobile and non-mobile devices.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to retrieving electronic information over acomputer network. More specifically, it relates to a method and systemfor providing social search and connection services within a socialmedia ecosystem.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Each day over 10,000,000+ related keyword searches are conducted forpeople trying to find people. If searches for related keywords includeelectronic white pages, dating and business networking are counted, thetotal would be over 40,000,000+, which would make searching for peopleone of the most searched subject categories in the world online.

Today, there are 2.3 billion Internet connected users around the world,and 6 billion mobile device owners and are growing exponentially.Searching and Social Networking is effecting and influencing all users,businesses and advertisers globally.

However, there is not a “top of mind” or superior people search solutionto search, connect and communicate with a desired person instantly.Thus, it is desirable to solve some of the problems associated withsearching for people online.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, someof the problems associated with search engines are overcome. A methodand system for providing social search and connection services within asocial media ecosystem is presented.

A desired person can be searched for from public search engines andsocial media sites directly by name and/or by unique search keywords andsearch categories created and publically published by the desiredperson, a social media index of the desired person or a social commerceconnection associated with the desired person. The search results arepublically viewable. However, communication with the desired personlocated within the social media ecosystem is via a private system inwhich a searcher must provide login information to privately communicatewith the desired person. The private system helps ensure that socialmedia index values and social commerce connections are properlyestablished, recorded and updated for the desired person and provides alayer of security and privacy. The social media searching ecosystem isprovided on a cloud communications network for mobile and non-mobiledevices.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of preferred embodimentsof the present invention will be more readily apparent from thefollowing detailed description. The detailed description proceeds withreferences to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described withreference to the following drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary social mediaecosystem system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary social media displaysystem;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary networking protocolstack;

FIG. 4 is block diagram illustrating an exemplary cloud communicationsnetwork;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary cloud storageobject;

FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary social media index;

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary social commerceconnection;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a flow diagram illustrating a method for socialmedia ecosystem searching;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a flow diagram illustrating a method for socialmedia ecosystem searching;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a flow diagram illustrating a method for socialmedia ecosystem searching;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are a flow diagram illustrating a method for socialmedia ecosystem searching; and

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for social mediaecosystem searching.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Exemplary Cloud Social MediaEcosystem

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary social mediaecosystem 10. The exemplary electronic system 10 includes, but is notlimited to, one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16 (only three ofwhich are illustrated) each with one or more processors and each with anon-transitory computer readable medium.

The one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16 include, but are notlimited to, multimedia capable desktop and laptop computers, tabletcomputers, facsimile machines, mobile phones, non-mobile phones, smartphones, Internet phones, Internet appliances, personal digital/dataassistants (PDA), two-way pagers, digital cameras, portable gameconsoles (Play Station Portable by Sony, Game Boy by Sony, Nintendo DSI,etc.), non-portable game consoles (Xbox by Microsoft, Play Station bySony, Wii by Nintendo, etc.), cable television (CATV), satellitetelevision (SATV) and Internet television set-top boxes, digitaltelevisions including high definition television (HDTV),three-dimensional (3DTV) televisions and other types of network devices.

The one or more smart network devices 12, 14, 16 include smart phonessuch as the iPhone by Apple, Inc., Blackberry Storm and other Blackberrymodels by Research In Motion, Inc. (RIM), Droid by Motorola, Inc. HTC,Inc. other types of smart phones, etc. However, the present invention isnot limited to such smart phone devices, and more, fewer or otherdevices can be used to practice the invention.

A “smart phone” is a mobile phone that offers more advanced computingability and connectivity than a contemporary basic feature phone. Smartphones and feature phones may be thought of as handheld computersintegrated with a mobile telephone, but while most feature phones areable to run applications based on platforms such as Java ME, a smartphone usually allows the user to install and run more advancedapplications. Smart phones and/or tablet computers run completeoperating system software providing a platform for applicationdevelopers.

The operating systems include the iPhone OS, Android, Windows, etc.iPhone OS is a proprietary operating system for the Apple iPhone.Andriod is an open source operating system platform backed by Google,along with major hardware and software developers (such as Intel, HTC,ARM, Motorola and Samsung, etc.), that form the Open Handset Alliance.

The one or more smart network devices 12, 14, 16 include tabletcomputers such as the iPad, by Apple, Inc., the HP Tablet, by HewlettPackard, Inc., the Playbook, by RIM, Inc., the Tablet, by Sony, Inc.

The target network devices 12, 14, 16 are in communications with a cloudcommunications network 18 via one or more wired and/or wirelesscommunications interfaces. The cloud communications network 18, is alsocalled a “cloud computing network” herein and the terms may be usedinterchangeably.

The plural target network devices 12, 14, 16 request desired electroniccontent 13, 15, etc. stored on the cloud communications network 18.

The cloud communications network 18 includes, but is not limited to,communications over a wire connected to the target network devices,wireless communications, and other types of communications using one ormore communications and/or networking protocols.

Plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 (only four of which areillustrated) each with one or more processors and a non-transitorycomputer readable medium include one or more associated databases 20′,22′, 24′, 26′. The plural network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 are incommunications with the one or more target devices 12, 14, 16 via thecloud communications network 18.

Plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 (only four of which areillustrated) are physically located on one more public networks 76 (SeeFIG. 4), private networks 72, community networks 74 and/or hybridnetworks 78 comprising the cloud network 18.

One or more server network devices (e.g., 20, etc.) securely stores acloud content location map 17 and other plural server network devices(e.g., 22, 24, 26, etc.) store portions 13′, 15′ of desired electroniccontent 13, 15 as cloud storage objects 82 (FIG. 5) as is describedherein.

The plural server network devices 20, 22, 24 26, include, but are notlimited to, World Wide Web servers, Internet servers, search engineservers, vertical search engine servers, social networking site servers,file servers, other types of electronic information servers, and othertypes of server network devices (e.g., edge servers, firewalls, routers,gateways, etc.).

The plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 also include, but arenot limited to, network servers used for cloud computing providers, etc.

The cloud communications network 18 includes, but is not limited to, awired and/or wireless communications network comprising one or moreportions of: the Internet, an intranet, a Local Area Network (LAN), awireless LAN (WiLAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Metropolitan AreaNetwork (MAN), a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a WirelessPersonal Area Network (WPAN) and other types of wired and/or wirelesscommunications networks 18.

The cloud communications network 18 includes one or more gateways,routers, bridges and/or switches. A gateway connects computer networksusing different network protocols and/or operating at differenttransmission capacities. A router receives transmitted messages andforwards them to their correct destinations over the most efficientavailable route. A bridge is a device that connects networks using thesame communications protocols so that information can be passed from onenetwork device to another. A switch is a device that filters andforwards packets between network segments based on some pre-determinedsequence (e.g., timing, sequence number, etc.).

An operating environment for the network devices of the exemplary socialmedia ecosystem 10 include a processing system with one or more highspeed Central Processing Unit(s) (CPU), processors, one or more memoriesand/or other types of non-transitory computer readable mediums. Inaccordance with the practices of persons skilled in the art of computerprogramming, the present invention is described below with reference toacts and symbolic representations of operations or instructions that areperformed by the processing system, unless indicated otherwise. Suchacts and operations or instructions are referred to as being“computer-executed,” “CPU-executed,” or “processor-executed.”

It will be appreciated that acts and symbolically represented operationsor instructions include the manipulation of electrical information bythe CPU or processor. An electrical system represents data bits whichcause a resulting transformation or reduction of the electricalinformation or biological information, and the maintenance of data bitsat memory locations in a memory system to thereby reconfigure orotherwise alter the CPU's or processor's operation, as well as otherprocessing of information. The memory locations where data bits aremaintained are physical locations that have particular electrical,magnetic, optical, or organic properties corresponding to the data bits.

The data bits may also be maintained on a non-transitory computerreadable medium including magnetic disks, optical disks, organic memory,and any other volatile (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)) ornon-volatile (e.g., Read-Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.) massstorage system readable by the CPU. The non-transitory computer readablemedium includes cooperating or interconnected computer readable medium,which exist exclusively on the processing system or can be distributedamong multiple interconnected processing systems that may be local orremote to the processing system.

Exemplary Social Media Ecosystem Display System

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary social mediaecosystem 10 display system 28. The exemplary social media ecosystemdisplay system includes, but is not limited to a target network device(e.g., 12, etc.) with a cloud application 30 and a display component 32.The cloud application 30 presents a graphical user interface (GUI) 34 onthe display 32 component. The GUI 32 presents a multi-window 36, 38,etc. (only two of which are illustrated) interface to a user.

In one embodiment of the invention, the cloud application 30 is asoftware application. However, the present invention is not limited tothis embodiment and the cloud application 30 can be hardware, firmware,hardware and/or any combination thereof. However, the present inventionis not limited these embodiments and other embodiments can be used topractice the invention

In another embodiment, a portion of the cloud application 30 isexecuting on the target network devices 12, 14, 16 and another portionof the application 30′ is executing on the server network devices 20,22, 24, 26 However, the present invention is not limited theseembodiments and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

Exemplary Networking Protocol Stack

FIG. 3 a block diagram illustrating a layered protocol stack 38 fornetwork devices in the social media ecosystem 10. The layered protocolstack 38 is described with respect to Internet Protocol (IP) suitescomprising in general from lowest-to-highest, a link 42, network 44,transport 48 and application 56 layer. However, more or fewer layerscould also be used, and different layer designations could also be usedfor the layers in the protocol stack 38 (e.g., layering based on theOpen Systems Interconnection (OSI) model including fromlowest-to-highest, a physical, data-link, network, transport, session,presentation and application layer.).

The network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 are connected to thecommunication network 18 with Network Interface Card (NIC) cardsincluding device drivers 40 in a link layer 42 for the actual hardwareconnecting the network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 to the cloudcommunications network 18. For example, the NIC device drivers 40 mayinclude a serial port device driver, a digital subscriber line (DSL)device driver, an Ethernet device driver, a wireless device driver, awired device driver, etc. The device drivers interface with the actualhardware being used to connect the network devices to the cloudcommunications network 18. The NIC cards have a medium access control(MAC) address that is unique to each NIC and unique across the wholecloud network 18. The Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol is used toprovide a data link layer of an Ethernet LAN system and for othernetwork systems.

Above the link layer 42 is a network layer 44 (also called the InternetLayer for Internet Protocol (IP) suites). The network layer 44 includes,but is not limited to, an IP layer 46.

IP 46 is an addressing protocol designed to route traffic within anetwork or between networks. However, more fewer or other protocols canalso be used in the network layer 44, and the present invention is notlimited to IP 46. For more information on IP 54 see IETF RFC-791,incorporated herein by reference.

Above network layer 44 is a transport layer 48. The transport layer 48includes, but is not limited to, an optional Internet Group ManagementProtocol (IGMP) layer 50, a Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)layer 52, a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) layer 52 and a UserDatagram Protocol (UDP) layer 54. However, more, fewer or otherprotocols could also be used in the transport layer 48.

Optional IGMP layer 50, hereinafter IGMP 50, is responsible formulticasting. For more information on IGMP 50 see RFC-1112, incorporatedherein by reference. ICMP layer 52, hereinafter ICMP 52 is used for IP46 control. The main functions of ICMP 52 include error reporting,reachability testing (e.g., pinging, etc.), route-change notification,performance, subnet addressing and other maintenance. For moreinformation on ICMP 52 see RFC-792, incorporated herein by reference.Both IGMP 50 and ICMP 52 are not required in the protocol stack 38. ICMP52 can be used alone without optional IGMP layer 50.

TCP layer 54, hereinafter TCP 54, provides a connection-oriented,end-to-end reliable protocol designed to fit into a layered hierarchy ofprotocols which support multi-network applications. TCP 54 provides forreliable inter-process communication between pairs of processes innetwork devices attached to distinct but interconnected networks. Formore information on TCP 54 see RFC-793, incorporated herein byreference.

UDP layer 56, hereinafter UDP 56, provides a connectionless mode ofcommunications with datagrams in an interconnected set of computernetworks. UDP 56 provides a transaction oriented datagram protocol,where delivery and duplicate packet protection are not guaranteed. Formore information on UDP 56 see RFC-768, incorporated herein byreference. Both TCP 54 and UDP 56 are not required in protocol stack 38.Either TCP 54 or UDP 56 can be used without the other.

Above transport layer 48 is an application layer 56 where applicationprograms 58 (e.g., 30, 30′, etc.) to carry out desired functionality fora network device reside. For example, the application programs 54 forthe client network devices 12, 14, 16 may include a web-browsers orother application programs, cloud application program 30, whileapplication programs for the server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 mayinclude other application programs (e.g., 30′, etc.).

However, the protocol stack 38 is not limited to the protocol layersillustrated and more, fewer or other layers and protocols can also beused in protocol stack 38. In addition, other protocols from theInternet Protocol suites (e.g., Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, (SMTP),Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP),Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), DNS, etc.) and/or otherprotocols from other protocol suites may also be used in protocol stack38.

Wireless Interfaces

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless interfaces onnetwork devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 include but are not limitedto, 3G and/or 4G IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.15.4(ZigBee), “Wireless Fidelity” (Wi-Fi), “Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access” (WiMAX), ETSI High Performance Radio Metropolitan AreaNetwork (HIPERMAN) or “RF Home” wireless interfaces. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the wireless sensor device mayinclude an integral or separate Bluetooth and/or infra data association(IrDA) module for wireless Bluetooth or wireless infraredcommunications. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and other 802.11xx and other types of wireless interfaces canalso be used.

802.11b is a short-range wireless network standard. The IEEE 802.11bstandard defines wireless interfaces that provide up to 11 Mbps wirelessdata transmission to and from wireless devices over short ranges.802.11a is an extension of the 802.11b and can deliver speeds up to 54Mbps. 802.11g deliver speeds on par with 802.11a. However, other 802.11XXinterfaces can also be used and the present invention is not limited tothe 802.11 protocols defined. The IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11gstandards are incorporated herein by reference.

Wi-Fi is a type of 802.11xx interface, whether 802.11b, 802.11a,dual-band, etc. Wi-Fi devices include an RF interfaces such as 2.4 GHzfor 802.11b or 802.11g and 5 GHz for 802.11a. More information on Wi-Fican be found at the domain name www.weca.net.

802.15.4 (Zigbee) is low data rate network standard used for meshnetwork devices such as sensors, interactive toys, smart badges, remotecontrols, and home automation. The 802.15.4 standard provides data ratesof 250 kbps, 40 kbps, and 20 kbps., two addressing modes; 16-bit shortand 64-bit IEEE addressing, support for critical latency devices, suchas joysticks, Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance,(CSMA-CA) channel access, automatic network establishment by acoordinator, fully handshaked protocol for transfer reliability, powermanagement to ensure low power consumption for multi-month to multi-yearbattery usage and up to 16 channels in the 2.4 GHz Industrial,Scientific and Medical (ISM) band (Worldwide), 10 channels in the 915MHz (US) and one channel in the 868 MHz band (Europe). The IEEE802.15.4-2003 standard is incorporated herein by reference. Moreinformation on 802.15.4 and ZigBee can be found at the domain name“www.ieee802.org” and “www.zigbee.org” respectively.

WiMAX is an industry trade organization formed by leading communicationscomponent and equipment companies to promote and certify compatibilityand interoperability of broadband wireless access equipment thatconforms to the IEEE 802.16XX and ETSI HIPERMAN. HIPERMAN is theEuropean standard for metropolitan area networks (MAN).

The IEEE The 802.16a and 802.16g standards are wireless MAN technologystandard that provides a wireless alternative to cable, DSL and T1/E1for last mile broadband access. It is also used as complimentarytechnology to connect IEEE 802.11XX hot spots to the Internet.

The IEEE 802.16a standard for 2-11 GHz is a wireless MAN technology thatprovides broadband wireless connectivity to fixed, portable and nomadicdevices. It provides up to 50-kilometers of service area range, allowsusers to get broadband connectivity without needing direct line of sightwith the base station, and provides total data rates of up to 280 Mbpsper base station, which is enough bandwidth to simultaneously supporthundreds of businesses with T1/E1-type connectivity and thousands ofhomes with DSL-type connectivity with a single base station. The IEEE802.16g provides up to 100 Mbps.

The IEEE 802.16e standard is an extension to the approved IEEE802.16/16a/16g standard. The purpose of 802.16e is to add limitedmobility to the current standard which is designed for fixed operation.

The ESTI HIPERMAN standard is an interoperable broadband fixed wirelessaccess standard for systems operating at radio frequencies between 2 GHzand 11 GHz.

The IEEE 802.16a, 802.16e and 802.16g standards are incorporated hereinby reference. More information on WiMAX can be found at the domain name“www.wimaxforum.org.” WiMAX can be used to provide a WLP.

The ETSI HIPERMAN standards TR 101 031, TR 101 475, TR 101 493-1 throughTR 101 493-3, TR 101 761-1 through TR 101 761-4, TR 101 762, TR 101763-1 through TR 101 763-3 and TR 101 957 are incorporated herein byreference. More information on ETSI standards can be found at the domainname “www.etsi.org.” ETSI HIPERMAN can be used to provide a WLP.

In one embodiment, the plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26include a connection to plural network interface cards (NICs) in abackplane connected to a communications bus. The NIC cards providegigabit/second (1×10⁹ bits/second) communications speed of electronicinformation. This allows “scaling out” for fast electronic contentretrieval. The NICs are connected to the plural server network devices20, 22, 24, 26 and the cloud communications network 18. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the NICs described and other typesof NICs in other configurations and connections with and/or without abuses can also be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 and wiredand wireless interfaces including the NICs include “4G” components. “4G”refers to the fourth generation of wireless communications standards andspeeds of 100 megabits/second to gigabits/second or more. 4G includespeak speed requirements for 4G service at least 100 Mbit/s for highmobility communication (e.g., trains, vehicles, etc.) and 1 Gbit/s forlow mobility communication (e.g., pedestrians and stationary users,etc.).

4G technologies are a successor to 3G and 2G standards. The nomenclatureof the generations generally refers to a change in the fundamentalnature of the service. The first was the move from analogue (1G) todigital (2G) transmission. This was followed by multi-media support,spread spectrum transmission and at least 200 kbits/second (3G). The 4GNICs include IP packet-switched NICs, wired and wireless ultra-broadband(i.e., gigabit speed) access NICs, Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX) NICs WiMAX Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/ormulti-carrier transmission NICs. However, the present invention is notlimited to this embodiment and 1G, 2G and 3G and/or any combinationthereof, with or with 4G NICs can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment of the invention, the WiMAX interfaces includes WiMAX4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) interfaces. The ITU announced in December2010 that WiMAX and LTE are 4G technologies. One of the benefits of 4GLTE is the ability to take advantage of advanced topology networksincluding those on cloud communications networks 18 such as optimizedheterogeneous networks with a mix of macrocells with low power nodessuch as picocells, femtocells and new relay nodes. LTE further improvesthe capacity and coverage, and helps ensures user fairness. 4G LTE alsointroduces multicarrier technologies for ultra-wide bandwidth use, up to100 MHz of spectrum supporting very high data rates.

In one embodiment, of the invention, the wireless interfaces alsoinclude wireless personal area network (WPAN) interfaces. As is known inthe art, a WPAN is a personal area network for interconnecting devicescentered around an individual person's devices in which the connectionsare wireless. A WPAN interconnects all the ordinary computing andcommunicating devices that a person has on their desk (e.g. computer,etc.) or carry with them (e.g., PDA, mobile phone, smart phone, tablecomputer two-way pager, etc.)

A key concept in WPAN technology is known as “plugging in.” In the idealscenario, when any two WPAN-equipped devices come into close proximity(within several meters and/or feet of each other) or within a few milesand/or kilometers of a central server (not illustrated), they cancommunicate via wireless communications as if connected by a cable. WPANdevices can also lock out other devices selectively, preventing needlessinterference or unauthorized access to secure information. Zigbee is onewireless protocol used on WPAN networks such as cloud communicationsnetwork 18.

VoIP is a set of facilities for managing the delivery of voiceinformation using IP packets. In general, VoIP is used to send voiceinformation in digital form in discrete data packets (i.e., IP packets)over data networks rather than using traditional circuit-switchedprotocols used on the PSTN. VoIP is used on both wireless and wired datanetworks.

VoIP typically comprises several applications (e.g., Session InitiationProtocol (SIP), Service Location Protocol (SLP), H.323, H.324, DomainName System (DNS), Authentication Authorization and Accounting (AAA),codecs (G.7xx), etc.) that convert a voice signal into a stream ofpackets (e.g., IP packets) on a packet network and back again. VoIPallows voice signals to travel over a stream of data packets over acommunications network.

Short Message Service (SMS) is a text messaging service component ofphone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardizedcommunications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messagesof up to 160 characters, or more.

Instant messaging (IM) is a type of messaging which offers real-timetext transmission over a local area network (LAN).

The one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16 and one or more servernetwork devices 20, 22, 24, 26 may communicate with each other and othernetwork devices with near field communications (NFC) and/ormachine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

“Near field communication (NFC)” is a set of standards for smartphonesand similar devices to establish radio communication with each other bytouching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually nomore than a few centimeters. Present and anticipated applicationsinclude contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup ofmore complex communications such as Wi-Fi. Communication is alsopossible between an NFC device and an unpowered NFC chip, called a “tag”including radio frequency identifier (RFID) tags.

NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats,and are based on existing radio-frequency identification (RFID)standards including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa. These standards includeISO/IEC 1809 and those defined by the NFC Forum, all of which areincorporated by reference.

“Machine to machine (M2M)” refers to technologies that allow bothwireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the sameability. M2M uses a device to capture an event (such as option purchase,etc.), which is relayed through a network (wireless, wired cloud, etc.)to an application (software program), that translates the captured eventinto meaningful information. Such communication was originallyaccomplished by having a remote network of machines relay informationback to a central hub for analysis, which would then be rerouted into asystem like a personal computer.

However, modern M2M communication has expanded beyond a one-to-oneconnection and changed into a system of networks that transmits datamany-to-one and many-to-many to plural different types of devices andappliances. The expansion of IP networks across the world has made itfar easier for M2M communication to take place and has lessened theamount of power and time necessary for information to be communicatedbetween machines.

However, the present invention is not limited to such wirelessinterfaces and wireless networks and more, fewer and/or other wirelessinterfaces can be used to practice the invention.

Wired Interfaces

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wired interfaces includewired interfaces and corresponding networking protocols for wiredconnections to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and/or acable television network (CATV) and/or satellite television networks(SATV) and/or three-dimensional television (3DTV), including HDTV thatconnect the network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 via one or moretwisted pairs of copper wires, digital subscriber lines (e.g. DSL, ADSL,VDSL, etc.) coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, other connection media orother connection interfaces. The PSTN is any public switched telephonenetwork provided by AT&T, GTE, Sprint, MCI, SBC, Verizon and others. TheCATV is any cable television network provided by the Comcast, TimeWarner, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to such wiredinterfaces and more, fewer and/or other wired interfaces can be used topractice the invention.

Television Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloud socialmedia ecosystem 10 searching services from television services over thecloud communications network 18. The television services include digitaltelevision services, including, but not limited to, cable television,satellite television, high-definition television, three-dimensional,televisions and other types of network devices.

However, the present invention is not limited to such televisionservices and more, fewer and/or other television services can be used topractice the invention.

Internet Television Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloud socialmedia ecosystem 10 search services from Internet television servicesover the cloud communications network 18. The television servicesinclude Internet television, Web-TV, and/or Internet Protocol Television(IPtv) and/or other broadcast television services.

“Internet television” allows users to choose a program or the televisionshow they want to watch from an archive of programs or from a channeldirectory. The two forms of viewing Internet television are streamingcontent directly to a media player or simply downloading a program to aviewer's set-top box, game console, computer, or other mesh networkdevice.

“Web-TV” delivers digital content via non-mesh broadband and mobilenetworks. The digital content is streamed to a viewer's set-top box,game console, computer, or other mesh network device.

“Internet Protocol television (IPtv)” is a system through which Internettelevision services are delivered using the architecture and networkingmethods of the Internet Protocol Suite over a packet-switched networkinfrastructure, e.g., the Internet and broadband Internet accessnetworks, instead of being delivered through traditional radio frequencybroadcast, satellite signal, and cable television formats.

However, the present invention is not limited to such InternetTelevision services and more, fewer and/or other Internet Televisionservices can be used to practice the invention.

General Search Engine Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloud socialmedia ecosystem 10 search services from general search engine services.A search engine is designed to search for information on a cloudcommunications network 18 such as the Internet including World Wide Webservers, HTTP, FTP servers etc. The search results are generallypresented in a list of electronic results. The information may consistof web pages, images, electronic information, multimedia information,and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data availablein databases or open directories. Unlike web directories, which aremaintained by human editors, search engines typically operatealgorithmically and/or are a mixture of algorithmic and human input.

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloud Socialmedia ecosystem 10 search services from general search engine services.In another embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide generalsearch engine services by interacting with one or more other publicsearch engines (e.g., GOOGLE, BING, YAHOO, etc.) and/or private searchengine services.

In another embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide socialmedia ecosystem 10 search services from specialized search engineservices, such as vertical search engine services by interacting withone or more other public vertical search engines (e.g., GALAXY.COM,etc.) and/or private search engine services

However, the present invention is not limited to such general and/orvertical search engine services and more, fewer and/or other generalsearch engine services can be used to practice the invention.

Social Networking Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloud socialmedia ecosystem 10 search services from one more social networkingservices including to/from one or more social networking web-sites(e.g., FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE, TWITTER, MY-SPACE, MATCH.COM, E-HARMONY, GROUPON, SOCIAL LIVING, PINREST, etc.). The social networking web-sites alsoinclude, but are not limited to, social couponing sites, datingweb-sites, blogs, RSS feeds, and other types of information web-sites inwhich messages can be left or posted for a variety of social activities.

However, the present invention is not limited to the social networkingservices described and other public and private social networkingservices can also be used to practice the invention.

Music Downloading Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloud socialmedia ecosystem 10 search services from one more music downloadingservices (e.g., iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) at one or more music downloadingsites.

However, the present invention is not limited to the music downloadingservices described and other public and private social networkingservices can also be used to practice the invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention include network devicesand wired and wireless interfaces that are compliant with all or part ofstandards proposed by the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicEngineers (IEEE), International TelecommunicationsUnion-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU), EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Internet Engineering TaskForce (IETF), U.S. National Institute of Security Technology (NIST),American National Standard Institute (ANSI), Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP) Forum, Bluetooth Forum, or the ADSL Forum.

Security and Encryption

Network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 with wired and/or wirelessinterfaces of the social media ecosystem 10 include one or more of thesecurity and encryptions techniques discussed herein for securecommunications on the cloud communications network 18.

Application programs 58 (FIG. 2) include security and/or encryptionapplication programs integral to and/or separate from the cloudapplications 30, 30′ Security and/or encryption programs may also existin hardware components on the network devices (12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24,26) described herein and/or exist in a combination of hardware, softwareand/or firmware.

Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) (also called “Wired EquivalentPrivacy) is a security protocol for WiLANs defined in the IEEE 802.11bstandard. WEP is cryptographic privacy algorithm, based on the RivestCipher 4 (RC4) encryption engine, used to provide confidentiality for802.11b wireless data.

RC4 is cipher designed by RSA Data Security, Inc. of Bedford, Mass.,which can accept encryption keys of arbitrary length, and is essentiallya pseudo random number generator with an output of the generator beingXORed with a data stream to produce encrypted data.

One problem with WEP is that it is used at the two lowest layers of theOSI model, the physical layer and the data link layer, therefore, itdoes not offer end-to-end security. One another problem with WEP is thatits encryption keys are static rather than dynamic. To update WEPencryption keys, an individual has to manually update a WEP key. WEPalso typically uses 40-bit static keys for encryption and thus provides“weak encryption,” making a WEP device a target of hackers.

The IEEE 802.11 Working Group is working on a security upgrade for the802.11 standard called “802.11i.” This supplemental draft standard isintended to improve WiLAN security. It describes the encryptedtransmission of data between systems 802.11x WiLANs. It also defines newencryption key protocols including the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol(TKIP). The IEEE 802.11i draft standard, version 4, completed Jun. 6,2003, is incorporated herein by reference.

The 802.11i is based on 802.1x port-based authentication for user anddevice authentication. The 802.11i standard includes two maindevelopments: Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Robust Security Network(RSN).

WPA uses the same RC4 underlying encryption algorithm as WEP. However,WPA uses TKIP to improve security of keys used with WEP. WPA keys arederived and rotated more often than WEP keys and thus provide additionalsecurity. WPA also adds a message-integrity-check function to preventpacket forgeries.

RSN uses dynamic negotiation of authentication and selectable encryptionalgorithms between wireless access points and wireless devices. Theauthentication schemes proposed in the draft standard include ExtensibleAuthentication Protocol (EAP). One proposed encryption algorithm is anAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption algorithm.

Dynamic negotiation of authentication and encryption algorithms lets RSNevolve with the state of the art in security, adding algorithms toaddress new threats and continuing to provide the security necessary toprotect information that WiLANs carry.

The NIST developed a new encryption standard, the Advanced EncryptionStandard (AES) to keep government information secure. AES is intended tobe a stronger, more efficient successor to Triple Data EncryptionStandard (3DES). More information on NIST AES can be found at the domainname “www.nist.gov/aes.”

DES is a popular symmetric-key encryption method developed in 1975 andstandardized by ANSI in 1981 as ANSI X.3.92, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. As is known in the art, 3DES is theencrypt-decrypt-encrypt (EDE) mode of the DES cipher algorithm. 3DES isdefined in the ANSI standard, ANSI X9.52-1998, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. DES modes of operation are used inconjunction with the NIST Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)for data encryption (FIPS 46-3, October 1999), the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

The NIST approved a FIPS for the AES, FIPS-197. This standard specified“Rijndael” encryption as a FIPS-approved symmetric encryption algorithmthat may be used by U.S. Government organizations (and others) toprotect sensitive information. The NIST FIPS-197 standard (AES FIPS PUB197, November 2001) is incorporated herein by reference.

The NIST approved a FIPS for U.S. Federal Government requirements forinformation technology products for sensitive but unclassified (SBU)communications. The NIST FIPS Security Requirements for CryptographicModules (FIPS PUB 140-2, May 2001) is incorporated herein by reference.

RSA is a public key encryption system which can be used both forencrypting messages and making digital signatures. The letters RSA standfor the names of the inventors: Rivest, Shamir and Adleman. For moreinformation on RSA, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,829, now expired,incorporated herein by reference.

“Hashing” is the transformation of a string of characters into a usuallyshorter fixed-length value or key that represents the original string.Hashing is used to index and retrieve items in a database because it isfaster to find the item using the shorter hashed key than to find itusing the original value. It is also used in many encryption algorithms.

Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), is used for computing a secure condensedrepresentation of a data message or a data file. When a message of anylength<2⁶⁴ bits is input, the SHA-1 produces a 160-bit output called a“message digest.” The message digest can then be input to other securitytechniques such as encryption, a Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) andothers which generates or verifies a security mechanism for the message.SHA-512 outputs a 512-bit message digest. The Secure Hash Standard, FIPSPUB 180-1, Apr. 17, 1995, is incorporated herein by reference.

Message Digest-5 (MD-5) takes as input a message of arbitrary length andproduces as output a 128-bit “message digest” of the input. The MD5algorithm is intended for digital signature applications, where a largefile must be “compressed” in a secure manner before being encrypted witha private (secret) key under a public-key cryptosystem such as RSA. TheIETF RFC-1321, entitled “The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm” isincorporated here by reference.

Providing a way to check the integrity of information transmitted overor stored in an unreliable medium such as a wireless network is a primenecessity in the world of open computing and communications. Mechanismsthat provide such integrity check based on a secret key are called“message authentication codes” (MAC). Typically, message authenticationcodes are used between two parties that share a secret key in order tovalidate information transmitted between these parties.

Keyed Hashing for Message Authentication Codes (HMAC), is a mechanismfor message authentication using cryptographic hash functions. HMAC isused with any iterative cryptographic hash function, e.g., MD5, SHA-1,SHA-512, etc. in combination with a secret shared key. The cryptographicstrength of HMAC depends on the properties of the underlying hashfunction. The IETF RFC-2101, entitled “HMAC: Keyed-Hashing for MessageAuthentication” is incorporated here by reference.

An Electronic Code Book (ECB) is a mode of operation for a “blockcipher,” with the characteristic that each possible block of plaintexthas a defined corresponding cipher text value and vice versa. In otherwords, the same plaintext value will always result in the same ciphertext value. Electronic Code Book is used when a volume of plaintext isseparated into several blocks of data, each of which is then encryptedindependently of other blocks. The Electronic Code Book has the abilityto support a separate encryption key for each block type.

Diffie and Hellman (DH) describe several different group methods for twoparties to agree upon a shared secret in such a way that the secret willbe unavailable to eavesdroppers. This secret is then converted intovarious types of cryptographic keys. A large number of the variants ofthe DH method exist including ANSI X9.42. The IETF RFC-2631, entitled“Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Method” is incorporated here by reference.

The HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) Secure (HTTPs), is a standardfor encrypted communications on the World Wide Web. HTTPs is actuallyjust HTTP over a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). For more information onHTTP, see IETF RFC-2616 incorporated herein by reference.

The SSL protocol is a protocol layer which may be placed between areliable connection-oriented network layer protocol (e.g. TCP/IP) andthe application protocol layer (e.g. HTTP). SSL provides for securecommunication between a source and destination by allowing mutualauthentication, the use of digital signatures for integrity, andencryption for privacy.

The SSL protocol is designed to support a range of choices for specificsecurity methods used for cryptography, message digests, and digitalsignatures. The security method are negotiated between the source anddestination at the start of establishing a protocol session. The SSL 2.0protocol specification, by Kipp E. B. Hickman, 1995 is incorporatedherein by reference. More information on SSL is available at the domainname See “netscape.com/eng/security/SSL_(—)2.html.”

Transport Layer Security (TLS) provides communications privacy over theInternet. The protocol allows client/server applications to communicateover a transport layer (e.g., TCP) in a way that is designed to preventeavesdropping, tampering, or message forgery. For more information onTLS see IETF RFC-2246, incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the security functionality includes Cisco CompatibleEXtensions (CCX). CCX includes security specifications for makers of802.11xx wireless LAN chips for ensuring compliance with Cisco'sproprietary wireless security LAN protocols. As is known in the art,Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. is supplier of networkinghardware and software, including router and security products.

However, the present invention is not limited to such security andencryption methods described herein and more, fewer and/or other typesof security and encryption methods can be used to practice theinvention. The security and encryption methods described herein can alsobe used in various combinations and/or in different layers of theprotocol stack 38 with each other.

Cloud Computing Networks

FIG. 4 is a block diagram 60 illustrating an exemplary cloud computingnetwork 18. The cloud computing network 18 is also referred to as a“cloud communications network” 18. However, the present invention is notlimited to this cloud computing model and other cloud computing modelscan also be used to practice the invention. The exemplary cloudcommunications network includes both wired and/or wireless components ofpublic and private networks.

In one embodiment, the cloud computing network 18 includes a cloudcommunications network 18 comprising plural different cloud componentnetworks 72, 74, 76, 78. “Cloud computing” is a model for enabling,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., public and private networks, servers, storage,applications, and services) that are shared, rapidly provisioned andreleased with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

This exemplary cloud computing model for electronic informationretrieval promotes availability for shared resources and comprises: (1)cloud computing essential characteristics; (2) cloud computing servicemodels; and (3) cloud computing deployment models. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this cloud computing model and other cloudcomputing models can also be used to practice the invention.

Exemplary cloud computing essential characteristics appear in Table 1.However, the present invention is not limited to these essentialcharacteristics and more, fewer or other characteristics can also beused to practice the invention.

TABLE 1 1. On-demand social media ecosystem 10 search services. Socialmedia ecosystem searchers can unilaterally provision computingcapabilities, such as server time and network storage, as neededautomatically without requiring human interaction with each networkserver on the cloud communications network 18. 2. Broadband networkaccess. Social media ecosystem searching capabilities are available overplural broadband communications networks and accessed through standardmechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick clientplatforms (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones 14, tablet computers 12,laptops, PDAs, etc.). The broadband network access includes high speednetwork access such as 3G and/or 4G wireless and/or wired and broadbandand/or ultra-broad band (e.g., WiMAX, etc.) network access. 3. Resourcepooling. Social media ecosystem 10 searching computing resources arepooled to serve multiple requesters using a multi-tenant model, withdifferent physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned andreassigned according to social media ecosystem demand. There is locationindependence in that an requester of a search has no control and/orknowledge over the exact location of the provided by social mediaecosystem 10 search resources but may be able to specify location at ahigher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or data center).Examples of pooled resources include storage, processing, memory,network bandwidth, virtual server network device and virtual targetnetwork devices. 4. Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be rapidly andelastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scaleout and rapidly released to quickly scale for the social media ecosystemsearch. To the social media ecosystem 10 searcher, the social mediaecosystem 10 searching capabilities available for provisioning appear tobe unlimited and can be used in any quantity at any time. 5. MeasuredServices. Cloud computing systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of social media ecosystem 10 service(e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, custom social media ecosystem 10searching, etc.). Social media ecosystem 10 searching usage ismonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both thesocial media search provider and the social media search requester ofthe utilized social media ecosystem 10 search service.

Exemplary cloud computing service models illustrated in FIG. 4 appear inTable 2. However, the present invention is not limited to these servicemodels and more, fewer or other service models can also be used topractice the invention.

TABLE 2 1. Cloud Computing Software Applications 62 for a social mediaecosystem 10 searching service (CCSA 64). The capability to use theprovider's applications 30, 30′ running on a cloud infrastructure 66.The cloud computing applications 62, are accessible from the servernetwork device 20 from various client devices 12, 14, 16 through a thinclient interface such as a web browser, etc. The user does not manage orcontrol the underlying cloud infrastructure 66 including network,servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application 30,30′ capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specificapplication configuration settings. 2. Cloud Computing Infrastructure 66for the social media ecosystem 10 searching service (CCI 68). Thecapability provided to the user is to provision processing, searchingstorage and retrieval, networks 18, 72, 74, 76, 78 and other fundamentalcomputing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and runarbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications30, 30′. The user does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure 66 but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls, etc.). 3. Cloud Computing Platform 70for the social media ecosystem 10 searching service (CCP 71). Thecapability provided to the user to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure66 created or acquired applications created using programming languagesand tools supported servers 20, 22, 24, 26, etc . . . The user notmanage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure 66 includingnetwork, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control overthe deployed applications 30, 30′ and possibly application hostingenvironment configurations.

Exemplary cloud computing deployment models appear in Table 3. However,the present invention is not limited to these deployment models andmore, fewer or other deployment models can also be used to practice theinvention.

TABLE 3 1. Private cloud network 72. The cloud network infrastructure isoperated solely for social media ecosystem 10 searching. It may bemanaged by the electronic content retrieval or a third party and mayexist on premise or off premise. 2. Community cloud network 74. Thecloud network infrastructure is shared by several differentorganizations and supports a specific social media ecosystem 10 searchcommunity that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, securityrequirements, policy, compliance considerations, etc.). It may bemanaged by the different organizations or a third party and may exist onpremise or off premise. 3. Public cloud network 76. The cloud networkinfrastructure such as the Internet, PSTN, SATV, CATV, Internet TV, etc.is made available to the general public or a large industry group and isowned by one or more organizations selling cloud services. 4. Hybridcloud network 78. The cloud network infrastructure 66 is a compositionof two and/or more cloud networks 18 (e.g., private 72, community 74,and/or public 76, etc.) and/or other types of public and/or privatenetworks (e.g., intranets, etc.) that remain unique entities but arebound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enablesdata and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds, etc.). 5. Cloud network 18. The cloudcommunications network further includes cable television networks(CATV), satellite television networks (SATV), three-dimensionaltelevision (3DTV) networks, Internet television networks, Web-TVnetworks and/or Internet Protocol Television (IPtv) networks.

Cloud software 64 for electronic content retrieval takes full advantageof the cloud paradigm by being service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperabilityfor social media ecosystem 10 searching services. However, cloudsoftware services 64 can include various states.

Cloud storage of social media ecosystem 10 searching on a cloudcomputing network 18 includes agility, scalability, elasticity andmulti-tenancy. Although a storage foundation may be comprised of blockstorage or file storage such as that exists on conventional networks,cloud storage is typically exposed to requesters of desired electroniccontent as cloud objects.

In one exemplary embodiment, the cloud application 30′, offers cloudservices for social media ecosystem 10 search services. The application30, 30′ offers the cloud computing Infrastructure 66, 68 as a Service 62(IaaS), including a cloud software infrastructure service 62, the cloudPlatform 70, 71 as a Service 62 (PaaS) including a cloud softwareplatform service 62 and/or offers Specific cloud software services as aService 62 (SaaS) including a specific cloud software service 62 forsocial media ecosystem 10 search services. The IaaS, PaaS and SaaSinclude one or more of cloud services 62 comprising networking, storage,server network device, virtualization, operating system, middleware,run-time, data and/or application services, or plural combinationsthereof, on the cloud communications network 18.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram 80 illustrating an exemplary cloud storageobject 82.

The cloud storage object 82 includes an envelope portion 84, with aheader portion 86, and a body portion 88. However, the present inventionis not limited to such a cloud storage object 82 and other cloud storageobjects and other cloud storage objects with more, fewer or otherportions can also be used to practice the invention.

The envelope portion 84 uses unique namespace Uniform ResourceIdentifiers (URIs) and/or Uniform Resource Names (URNs), and/or UniformResource Locators (URLs) unique across the cloud communications network18 to uniquely specify, location and version information and encodingrules used by the cloud storage object 82 across the whole cloudcommunications network 18. For more information, see IETF RFC-3305,Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), URLs, and Uniform Resource Names(URNs), the contents of which are incorporated by reference.

The envelope portion 84 of the cloud storage object 82 is followed by aheader portion 86. The header portion 86 includes extended informationabout the cloud storage objects such as authorization and/or transactioninformation, etc.

The body portion 88 includes methods 90 (i.e., a sequence ofinstructions, etc.) for using embedded application-specific data in dataelements 92. The body portion 88 typically includes only one portion ofplural portions of application-specific data 92 and independent data 94so the cloud storage object 82 can provide distributed, redundant faulttolerant, security and privacy features described herein.

Cloud storage objects 82 have proven experimentally to be a highlyscalable, available and reliable layer of abstraction that alsominimizes the limitations of common file systems. Cloud storage objects82 also provide low latency and low storage and transmission costs.

Cloud storage objects 82 are comprised of many distributed resources,but function as a single storage object, are highly fault tolerantthrough redundancy and provide distribution of desired electroniccontent across public communication networks 76, and one or more privatenetworks 72, community networks 74 and hybrid networks 78 of the cloudcommunications network 18. Cloud storage objects 82 are also highlydurable because of creation of copies of portions of desired electroniccontent across such networks 72, 74, 76, 78 of the cloud communicationsnetwork 18. Cloud storage objects 82 includes one or more portions ofdesired electronic content and can be stored on any of the 72, 74, 76,78 networks of the cloud communications network 18. Cloud storageobjects 82 are transparent to a requester of desired electronic contentand are managed by cloud applications 30, 30′.

In one embodiment, cloud storage objects 82 are configurable arbitraryobjects with a size up to hundreds of terabytes, each accompanied bywith a few kilobytes of metadata. Cloud objects are organized into andidentified by a unique identifier unique across the whole cloudcommunications network 18. However, the present invention is not limitedto the cloud storage objects described, and more fewer and other typesof cloud storage objects can be used to practice the invention.

Cloud storage objects 82 present a single unified namespace orobject-space and manages desired electronic content by user oradministrator-defined policies storage and retrieval policies. Cloudstorage objects includes Representational state transfer (REST), SimpleObject Access Protocol (SOAP), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol(LDAP) and/or Application Programming Interface (API) objects and/orother types of cloud storage objects. However, the present invention isnot limited to the cloud storage objects described, and more fewer andother types of cloud storage objects can be used to practice theinvention.

REST is a protocol specification that characterizes and constrainsmacro-interactions storage objects of the four components of a cloudcommunications network 18, namely origin servers, gateways, proxies andclients, without imposing limitations on the individual participants.

SOAP is a protocol specification for exchanging structured informationin the implementation of cloud services with storage objects. SOAP hasat least three major characteristics: (1) Extensibility (includingsecurity/encryption, routing, etc.); (2) Neutrality (SOAP can be usedover any transport protocol such as HTTP, SMTP or even TCP, etc.), and(3) Independence (SOAP allows for almost any programming model to beused, etc.)

LDAP is a software protocol for enabling storage and retrieval ofelectronic content and other resources such as files and devices on thecloud communications network 18. LDAP is a “lightweight” version ofDirectory Access Protocol (DAP), which is part of X.500, a standard fordirectory services in a network. LDAP may be used with X.509 securityand other security methods for secure storage and retrieval. X.509 ispublic key digital certificate standard developed as part of the X.500directory specification. X.509 is used for secure management anddistribution of digitally signed certificates across networks.

An API is a particular set of rules and specifications that softwareprograms can follow to communicate with each other. It serves as aninterface between different software programs and facilitates theirinteraction.

Search Engine Ecosystem

An electronic search engine ecosystem includes one or more contentproviders (e.g., web-site providers, etc.), one or more public and/orprivate search engines (e.g., GOOGLE, BING, YAHOO, etc.) and/or one ormore users (e.g., searchers, etc.) However, the present invention is notlimited the components describe and more, fewer and/or other componentscan be used to practice the invention as a search engine ecosystem.

The one more public and/or private search engines 98 include, electronicinformation gatherers, a search query parser, a search query gatherer, asearch query ranker, a search query formatter,

A “search engine” is a software system that is designed to search forinformation on the World Wide Web. The search results are generallypresented and referred to as Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Theinformation includes web pages, images, information and other types offiles. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or opendirectories. Unlike web directories, which are maintained only by humaneditors, search engines also maintain real-time information by runningdifferent types of search algorithms on web crawlers.

Web search engines function by storing information about many web pages,which they retrieve from the markup language (e.g., HTML, XML, etc.) theweb pages are written in. These pages are retrieved by an automatedprogram called a spider, web-crawler, web-bot, that follows every linkon the site. The contents of each page are then analyzed to determinehow it should be indexed (for example, words can be extracted from thetitles, page content, headings, or special fields called meta tags).Data about web pages are stored in an index database for use in laterqueries. A query from a user can be a single word. The index helps findinformation relating to the query as quickly as possible.

Some search engines, such as GOOGLE, store all or part of the sourcepage (referred to as a cache) as well as information about the webpages, whereas other search engines store every word of every page theyfind. This cached page holds the actual search text since it is the onethat was actually indexed, so it can be very useful when the content ofthe current page has been updated and the search terms are no longer init.

When a user enters a query into a search engine using one or morekeywords, the search engine examines its index and provides a listing ofbest-matching web pages according to its criteria, usually with a shortsummary containing the document's title and sometimes parts of the text.The index is built from the information stored with the data and themethod by which the information is indexed.

Most search engines support the use of the Boolean operators AND, OR andNOT to further specify the search query. Boolean operators are forliteral searches that allow the user to refine and extend the terms ofthe search. The engine looks for the words or phrases exactly asentered. Some search engines provide an advanced feature calledproximity search, which allows users to define the distance betweenkeywords. There is also concept-based searching where the researchinvolves using statistical analysis on pages containing the words orphrases you search for. As well, natural language queries allow the userto type a question in the same form one would ask it to a human.

The usefulness of a search engine depends on the relevance of the searchresult set it gives back. While there may be millions of web pages thatinclude a particular word or phrase, some pages may be more relevant,popular, or authoritative than others. Most search engines employmethods to rank the results to provide the “best” results first. How asearch engine decides which pages are the best matches, and what orderthe results should be shown in, varies widely from one engine toanother.

“Search engine optimization (SEO)” is the process of affecting thevisibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's “natural” orun-paid (“organic”) search results. In general, the earlier (or higherranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appearsin the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from thesearch engine's users.

Social Media Ecosystem

An “ecosystem” with respect to a communications network 18, is acommunity of participates (e.g., web page providers, indexers (e.g.,search engines, etc.) and searchers in conjunction with the technologycomponents of their environment (e.g., servers, gateways, routers,switches, wired interfaces, wireless interfaces, target network devices,(e.g., smart phones, tablets, etc.), etc.), interacting as a system. Theecosystem components are regarded as linked together throughcommunications and data flows. Ecosystems are controlled by bothinternal and external factors.

A “digital social media ecosystem” is a distributed, adaptive, opensocio-technical system with properties of self-organization, scalabilityand sustainability inspired from natural ecosystems. Digital ecosystemmodels are informed by knowledge of natural ecosystems, especially foraspects related to competition and collaboration among diverse entities.

One framework for digital ecosystems includes three distinct levels.Level 1 of the framework describes what drives individuals to carry outactions in online communities such as posting messages and addingelectronic content. Level 2 looks at the cognitions participants use todetermine whether or not to take such actions. Level 3 looks at themethods by which participates go about carrying out the action in thedigital ecosystem environment.

A “social search ecosystem” typically operates within threeperspectives: content providers, indexers, and searchers. That is, eachmember of the search ecosystem has a set of objectives and prioritiesthat determine criteria when participating in the ecosystem.Participates will only participate in a search ecosystem if there is atangible benefit, i.e., a payoff or return on investment (ROI).

Any member of the search ecosystem may reorganize (e.g., optimize, etc.)a search resource according to his own perspective. Searchers do this bychanging the way they search. Indexers (e.g., search engines, etc.) dothis by (excluding or including content, changing indexing structures,adjusting ranks, etc.). Content providers do this by changing content.

Social media ecosystems facilitate and automate vast interactions,connections and networks of people by enabling collaboration at anytime. This new ecosystem almost completely eliminates the need fortravel and direct personal interactions. Within this new ecosystem thereare individual influencer ecosystems with their own dynamicsinterrelationships, characteristics and influence models.

Social media ecosystems include a new business-to-person (B2P) paradigm.Mohan Sawhney, author of The Global Brain reinforces this in his book,“social customers are driving innovation, they are empowered andcollaborative, they are the drivers and initiators of innovation and areincreasingly viewed as a strategic asset to companies. Today's customeris looking for a personalized experience and relationship, demandingsolutions rather than products,” in what he calls the global Bazaar.

As social media ecosystem 10 is also a place to present social “needs”in social, career or leisure activities, for the benefit of oneself andothers individuals and businesses that feel that can satisfy that need,per search, and review of a public profile.

Social Media Index

There are a number of definitions of Social Indicators (SI) both fromself evaluation, to physical activity data capture to expression ofothers feedback or recommendations. SIs are forms of evidence that helpassessment of present position and future directions. An SI is also a“direct and valid statistical measure which monitors levels and changesover time in a fundamental social concern.” A social concern is “anidentifiable and definable aspiration or concern of fundamental anddirect importance to human well-being.” Indicators may be material, suchas numbers related to economic growth, and/or immaterial, such as valuesor goals. An SI includes statistics which are intended to provide abasis for making concise, comprehensive and balanced judgments about theconditions of social connections.

The kind of indicators chosen for SI empirical measurement depends onthe purpose of the measure. While “objective social indicators” arestatistics which represent social facts independent of personalevaluations, “subjective social indicators” are measures of individualperceptions and evaluations of social conditions.

“Objective social indicators” represent social facts independently ofpersonal evaluations. “Subjective social indicators” are based onindividual perception and evaluation of social conditions. Generally, SIperform one or more of three functions: (1) providing a basis forinformation for decision-making; (2) monitoring and evaluating policies;and/or (3) searching for a common goal and deciding how to reach it.

A “social media index” and/or a “social inclusion index” is a frameworkfor measuring multiple dimensions of social connections. It measuressocial connections with public figures in politics, sports,entertainment, etc. and with private figures such as friends, relatives,real and virtual acquaintances. In one embodiment, it includes bothobjective and subjective social indicators. In another embodiment, itincludes only objective social indicators. In another embodiment, itincludes only subjective social indicators. However, the presentinvention is not limited to the social indices described, and more fewerand other types of social indices can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment of the invention, an exemplary social media indexincludes a measure of a person's connections to “friends.” Table 4illustrates an exemplary four dimensional (4D) or four deep friendsocial media index. This 4D social media index is exemplary only andother types and more, fewer or other dimensions can be used for thesocial media index.

TABLE 4 SUSAN ORLEAN - Social media index - The New Yorker - Nov. 5,2010 1. The friend you know well, have encountered frequently in theflesh, perhaps even hugged, have visited domestically, and would inviteto your child's wedding, and with whom, coincidentally, you mightoccasionally communicate via social media in addition to moretraditional friend channels such as lunch dates, telephone calls, etcetera (formerly known simply as “a friend”) 2. The friend you sort ofknow, because you have friends in common and have maybe attended thesame events-not together, but you've both ended up there because youknow a lot of the same people. You perhaps would not have thought toinvite this person to a small party, and yet you do include him in yourwider sense of your social circle-and you now communicate with him viasocial media more than you ever did before such a thing existed, and younow have a surprising intimacy after years of static, unenergeticjust-sort-of-knowing one another (formerly known as “an acquaintance”)3. The friend, or friend-like entity, whom you met initially viaFACEBOOK or TWITTER or GOOREADS or, heaven help us, MySpace. Youmet-online, that is-because . . . well, who remembers now, anyway? Maybethrough some friend of a friend of a friend, or because some algorithmon Facebook “suggested” that you should be friends. In any case, you nowinteract with this person/stranger frequently-in fact, maybe many timesa day-and, as a result, she enters your conversation the way anyonewould with whom you exchange chitchat several times a day. When a realflesh-based friend asks you who this person is, you describe her as afriend, for lack of a better word. It's an awkward description becauseyou have a) never met in real life b) might not actually know thisperson's full name or profession or background. Yet you look forward tointeracting with this person, and if/when she mentions experiencing asad event, a birthday, a job loss, a cute baby experience, or a caraccident, you have a strong, actual reaction (this sort of friendshipformerly had no name at all, since the only kind of liaison that evencomes close to this in the history of human relations is that of penpals) 4. The friend-like entity mentioned in No. 3-that is, someone whomyou know only virtually-but in this instance you and this person haveactually met. The meeting was probably brief and a one-off encounter andit probably occurred because one of you happened to be passing throughthe other's hometown. When you finally meet, you spend most of your timechuckling over how much smaller/taller you look in your profile picture.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary four dimensional(4D) social media index 96. The social media index 96 includes a firstset of connections 98, a second set of connections 100, a third set ofconnections 102 and a fourth set of connections 104. However, thepresent invention is not to the social indices described, and more fewerand other types of social indices can be used to practice the invention.

In one exemplary embodiment of the social media index 96, the first setof connections 98 is a most important set of connections and is assigneda largest numeric percentage. The second set of connections 100 issecond most important and is assigned a second numeric percentage. Thethird set of connections 102 is third most important and is assigned athird numeric percentage. The fourth set of connections 104 is leastimportant and is assigned a smallest numeric percentage. However, thepresent invention is not to a social media index 96 described, and morefewer and other types of set of connections can be used to practice theinvention.

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, an exemplary social mediaindex 96 includes a four deep measure of social, career and leisurecategories. Such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 6A. FIG. 6Aillustrates four categories or spheres of influence. As an example forthe social category sphere: (1) or the closet sphere 98 to the centerillustrates people who you call in emergency and/or are highlyinfluential and supportive in daily life; (2) includes a second sphere100 of people whom you have contact with at least monthly for meaningfulexperience; (3) includes a third sphere 102 of people know on a firstname basis, no set pattern of interaction with but put would gladlyaccept your contact or phone call or communication; (4) includes afourth sphere 104 of people you have a direct connection with but do notfall into the above definition or pattern of contact of influentialmeaning in your life. However, the present invention is not to thesocial indices described, and more fewer and other types of socialindices can be used to practice the invention

Table 5 illustrates an exemplary four dimensional (4D) and/or friendsocial media index 96. This 4D social media index 96 is exemplary onlyand other types and more, fewer or other percentages can be used for thesocial media index 96.

TABLE 5 1. First set of connections 98 = 60% 2. Second set ofconnections 100 = 25% 3. Third set of connection 102 = 10% 4. Fourth setof connections 104 =  5%

A simple social media index 96 value is calculated by Equation (1).However, the present invention is not to a social media index 96described, and more fewer and other types of set of connections can beused to practice the invention.

social media index value=(number of connections in the first set ofconnections*0.60)+(number of connections in the second set ofconnections*0.25)+(number of connections in the third set ofconnections*0.10)+(number of connections in the fourth set ofconnections*0.05)  (1)

For example, if person A had 44 people in her first set of connections98, people in her second set of connections 100, 99 people in her thirdset of connections 102 and 1,302 people in her fourth set ofconnections, using Equation (1) her exemplary social media index 96value would be (44*0.60)+(10*0.25)+(99*0.10)+(1,032*0.05)=90.4.

For example, if person B had 1,032 people in her first set ofconnections 98, 10 people in her second set of connections 100, 99people in her third set of connections 102 and 5,001 people in herfourth set of connections, using Equation (1) her exemplary social mediaindex 96 value would be(1,032*0.60)+(10*0.25)+(99*0.10)+(5001*0.05)=972.05.

In one embodiment, the first set of connections 98 includes only otherpeople that are “well-known” and/or “famous” in politics, entertainment,sports, etc. that would recognize the person by name and consider them afriend if asked. However, the present invention is not to a social mediaindex 96 described, and more fewer and other types of set of connectionscan be used to practice the invention. In such an embodiment, firstcloud application 30′ dynamically maintains a list of “well-known”and/or “famous” people.

For example, in such an embodiment, the first set of connections 98 fora person may include President Obama, because the person took a classfrom Professor Obama when he was law school professor at the Universityof Chicago, include Tom Brady, Quarterback of the New England Patriotsbecause he was a classmate at the University of Michigan, and includeJennifer Aniston the actress, because she was the next store neighbor ofhis sister, etc.

In another embodiment, the first set of connections 98 includes onlyother people that would recognize the person by name and consider them afriend if asked. Such people would also have some type of contactinformation for the person include an e-mail address, a phone number,etc.

However, the present invention is not to a social media index 96described, and more fewer and other types of set of connections can beused to obtain a social media index value to practice the invention.

Social Commerce Connections

“Social commerce” is a subset of electronic commerce that involves usingsocial media, online media that supports social interaction, and usercontributions to assist in creating social connection as well as theonline buying and selling of products and services.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram 105 illustrating an exemplary social commerceconnection 107. However, the present invention is not to the socialcommerce connect described, and more fewer and other types of socialcommerce connections can be used to practice the invention

A social commerce connection 107 (FIG. 6B) is the use of socialnetwork(s) for e-commerce transactions. Social commerce include onlinecollaborative tools such as shared pick lists, viewing advertising, userratings and other user-generated content-sharing of online goods andservices information and advice.

Examples of social commerce include, but are not limited to, customerratings and reviews, user recommendations and referrals, social shoppingtools (e.g., sharing the act of shopping online, etc.), forums andcommunities, social media optimization, social applications and socialadvertising.

One way to categorize social commerce is Offsite and Onsite socialcommerce. “Offsite social commerce” includes activities that happenoutside of a good or service provider's website. These may includeelectronic storefronts, posting products on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINRESTand other social networks, advertisement etc. However, many large brandsseem to be abandoning that approach. The poor performance has beenattributed to the lack of purchase intent when users are engaged onsocial media sites which were designed to interact with other people andnot to purchase products.

“Onsite social commerce” refers to retailers including social sharingand other social functionality on their website. Some notable examplesinclude ZAZZLE which enables users to share their purchases, MACY'Swhich allows users to create a poll to find the right product, andFAB.COM which shows a live feed of what other shoppers are buying.Onsite user reviews are also considered a part of social commerce.

The 2011 BankInter Foundation for Innovation conference on SocialTechnologies discussed six C's of Social Technologies including content,community, commerce, context, connection and conversation.

Content—The basic need to engage with customers, prospects andstakeholders through valuable published content on the web. Earlyexamples of this were the brochure sites for organizations and this hasmatured into a vast and growing body of material being published in realtime onto the web. GOOGLE and UNITTUS are organizations that have beenat the forefront of indexing and making findable content on the web.

Community—Treating the audience as a community with the objective ofbuilding sustainable relationships by providing tangible value. Earlyincarnations of Community were mobilized through registration andengaged via email programs, this evolved into online forums, chat-roomsand membership groups where users were able to interact with each other,an early example being YAHOO GROUPS. Social Networks are the latestincarnation of community and of the many networks FACEBOOK and TWITTERare the leading organization providing the platform for interpersonalinteractions.

Commerce—Being able to fulfill customers' needs via a transactional webpresence, typically online retailers, banks, insurance companies, travelsales sites provide the most useful business-to-consumer services.Business-to-business sites range from online storage and hosting toproduct sourcing and fulfillment services. AMAZON.com emerged in the90's and has gone on to dominate the B2C commerce space extending itsservices beyond traditional retail commerce.

Context—The online world is able to track real-world events and this isprimarily being enabled by mobile devices. An online bill payment viaGoogle Checkout or a check in at a physical location via FACEBOOK orFOURSQUARE links a real world event to an online data entity such as abusiness or a place. This is a vital element to Social Commerce wherethe data is now available to organizations wishing to provide productsand services to consumers.

Connection—The new online networks are defining and documenting therelationships between people—these relationships may originate in thephysical world or online and may manifest in the other as a result of aconnection in the first. LINKEDIN, FACEBOOK, TWITTER and UNITTUS areprime examples of online networks—Professional, Social and Casual. Therelationships, the scope of those relationships and the interactionsbetween individuals are a basis for the actions of Social Commerce.UNITUS uWorld Community includes search, connect, communicate andprosper together, instantly with an open public format, so people canconnect with and individual or the community at large instantly.

Conversation—All markets are conversations—this may now be reversed forSocial Commerce to say that all conversations are markets. Aconversation between two parties will likely surface a need that couldbe fulfilled, thus providing a potential market for supplierorganizations. The challenge is for suppliers to be able to tap intothose conversations and map those into the range of products andservices that they supply. Simple examples of such ‘conversations thatindicate demand’ are where people place objects of desire on theirPINTERST board, a “LIKE” of an item inside FACEBOOK or re-tweeting aTWEET on TWITTER.

The elements of social commerce include but are not limited to,reciprocity, community, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity.

Reciprocity—When a company gives a person something for free, thatperson will feel the need to return the favor, whether by buying againor giving good recommendations for the company.

Community—When people find an individual or a group that shares the samevalues, likes, beliefs, etc., they find community. People are morecommitted to a community that they feel accepted within. When thiscommitment happens, they tend to follow the same trends as a group andwhen one member introduces a new idea or product, it is accepted morereadily based on the previous trust that has been established

Social proof—To receive positive feedback, a company needs to be willingto accept social feedback and to show proof that other people arebuying, and like, the same things that I like. This can be seen in a lotof online companies such as eBay and Amazon, that allow public feedbackof products and when a purchase is made, they immediately generate alist showing purchases that other people have made in relation to myrecent purchase. It is beneficial to encourage open recommendation andfeedback. This creates trust for you as a seller. 55% of buyers turn tosocial media when they're looking for information.

Authority—Many people need proof that a product is of good quality. Thisproof can be based on the recommendations of others who have bought thesame product. If there are many user reviews about a product, then aconsumer will be more willing to trust their own decision to buy thisitem.

Liking—People trust based on the recommendations of others. If there area lot of “likes” of a particular product, then the consumer will feelmore confident and justified in making this purchase.

Scarcity—If a person is convinced that they are purchasing somethingthat is unique, special, or not easy to acquire, they will have more ofa willingness to make a purchase. If there is trust established from theseller, they will want to buy these items immediately. This can be seenin the cases of ZARA and APPLE who create demand for their products byconvincing the public that there is a possibility of missing out onbeing able to purchase them.

In a social commerce and social media ecosystem everybody is connectedfrom a economic/financial standpoint regardless of how they became amember. Everything they do would have a financial connection to otherswithin the platform on a global basis.

Social Media Ecosystem Information Creation and Searching

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a flow diagram illustrating a Method 106 for socialmedia ecosystem searching. In FIG. 7A at step 108, plural electronicinformation is received from plural target applications on plural targetnetwork devices each with one or more processors on a first cloudapplication stored in a first non-transitory computer readable medium ona cloud server network device with the one or more processors via acloud communications network comprising: one or more publiccommunication networks, one or more private networks, one or morecommunity networks and one or more hybrid networks. The pluralelectronic information includes plural personal electronic informationinput into the plural target network devices by a plural individualpeople using search categories and search keywords uniquely created bythe plural individual people. At Step 110, the first cloud applicationstores the received plural electronic information for the pluralindividual people in plural pre-determined search index structures inplural cloud storage objects. At Step 112, the first cloud applicationcalculates plural social media index values for the pluralpre-determined search index structures with electronic information fromthe stored plural cloud storage objects. At Step 114, the first cloudapplication stores the calculated social media index values in theplural pre-determined search index structures in the stored plural cloudstorage objects. At Step 116, the first cloud application providesaccess to plural public search engines and to plural social media sitesvia the cloud communications network the plural pre-determined searchindex structures stored in the plural cloud storage objects and acceptsearch requests for any of the plural individual people. This allows anyother person on the cloud communications network to publically searchfor and privately communicate with any of the plural the individualpeople by name or by using search categories and keywords uniquelycreated by the plural individual people or by social search index valuescalculated for the plural individual people.

Method 106 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 7A at Step 108, pluralelectronic information 13,15 is received from plural target applications30 on plural target network devices 12, 14, 16 each with one or moreprocessors on a first cloud application 30′ stored in a firstnon-transitory computer readable medium on a cloud server network 20device with the one or more processors via a cloud communicationsnetwork 18 comprising: one or more public communication networks 76, oneor more private networks 72, one or more community networks 74 and oneor more hybrid networks 78. The plural electronic information 13, 15includes plural personal electronic information input into the pluraltarget network devices 12, 14, 16 by plural individual people usingsearch categories including a full name of a desired person, etc. andsearch keywords uniquely created by the plural individual people.

In one embodiment, the plural electronic information 13, 15 includesprofessional information, personal information, social information andhobby/leisure information. However, the present invention is not limitedto this embodiment and more, fewer or other types of information can beused to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the plural electronic information 13, 15, is fullyvisible and/or fully publically available anywhere on the cloudcommunications network. In such an embodiment, users of the targetnetwork devices 12, 14, 16, cannot create aliases and/or post theirinformation anonymously and must use their real name. This allows theplural electronic information 13, 15 to be publically available but anycommunications to be private. This helps ensure any person who entershis/her information can be publically located, but the individual persondecides whether or not he/she will privately communicate with a personwho has located them and now desires to communicate with them. However,the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention

For example, Miss Katherine A, a user of target device 12 is a divorced40 year old female who loves kids, but has no kids of her own has adesire to find a man to date. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, is arunner that only runs in NIKE Free running shoes. She only drinks ICEMOUNTAIN water. She has a brown MIKI dog. She hates baseball, but is anavid CHICAGO BEARS football fan. She only drinks coffee on Wednesdaymornings from 8:00 am until 8:30 am. She only wears JIMMY CHO high heelshoes to work.

So Miss Katherine A will send her in her electronic information a uniqueset of key words and search categories she creates. Her unique set ofkey words will include, divorced, 40 year old female, runner, NIKE FREErunning shoes, ICE MOUNTAIN water, brown MIKI, CHICAGO BEARS fan, coffeeWednesday mornings only from 8:00 am until 8:30 pm; Work Shoes—JIMMY CHOonly. Her search categories will include, dating, running, runningshoes, dogs, football, am coffee, high-heel shoes, etc. They will all beconnected to Miss A by the exact spelling of her full name.

In one embodiment, the plural electronic information 13, 15 receivedfrom the plural target applications 30 on the plural target networkdevices 12, 14, 16 includes a list of social connections for the user ofthe target network device 12, 14, 16. In such an embodiment the list ofsocial connections are automatically categorized by the first cloudapplication 30′ into four categories to be used with a social mediaindex 96 as is illustrated in FIG. 6A. However, the present invention isnot limited to the exemplary embodiment and other embodiments can beused to practice the invention.

In another embodiment, the plural electronic information 13, 15 receivedfrom the plural target applications 30 on the plural target networkdevices 12, 14, 16 includes a list of social connections for the user ofthe target network device 12, 14, 16. In such an embodiment the list ofsocial connections are manually categorized by users of the targetnetwork devices 12, 14, 16 into categories to be used with the socialmedia index 96 as is illustrated in FIG. 6A. In such an embodiment, theusers of the target devices calculate their own social media index 96values and send them to the first cloud application 30′ for storage.However, the present invention is not limited to the exemplaryembodiment and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

At Step 110, the first cloud application 30′ stores the received pluralelectronic information 13, 15 for the plural individual people in pluralpre-determined search index structures 88 in plural cloud storageobjects 82. However, the present invention is not limited to cloudstorage objects 82 of the search index structures 88 described and otherdata structures, for cloud and non-cloud communication networks can beused to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, at Step 100, the first cloud application 30′automatically translates the received plural electronic information intoa plural different languages (e.g., automatically translates a user baselanguage, such as English into French, German, Chinese, Japanese,Italian, Swahili, and 30+ other languages) and also stores thetranslated plural electronic information in the plural cloud storageobjects 82. In such an embodiment, the received plural electronicinformation can be searched globally in virtually any language fromanywhere on the cloud communications network 18. However, the presentinvention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention which does not includeautomatic translation.

At Step 112, the first cloud application 30′ automatically calculatesplural social media index values 96 for the plural pre-determined searchindex structures 88 with electronic information from the stored pluralcloud storage objects 82 (e.g., see Table 2 and Equation (1)).

At Step 114, the first cloud application 30′ stores the calculatedsocial media index values 96 in the plural pre-determined search indexstructures 88 in the stored plural cloud storage objects 82.

At Step 116, the first cloud application 30′ provides access to pluralpublic search engines 22, 26 (e.g., GOOGLE, BING, ASK, YAHOO, UNITTUS,etc.) and to plural social media sites 24 (e.g., FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE,TWITTER, MATCH.COM, E-HARMONY.COM, PINREST, etc.), to cable and Internettelevision services, to music downloading services, etc. via the cloudcommunications network 18 the plural pre-determined search indexstructures 88 stored in the plural cloud storage objects 82 and acceptsearch requests for any of the plural individual people. This allows anyother person on the cloud communications network 18 to publically searchfor and privately communicate with any of the plural the individualpeople directly by name and/or by using search categories and keywordsuniquely created by the plural individual people or by social searchindex values 96 calculated for the plural individual people. The privatecommunication requirement also provides several layers of privacy andsecurity for the individual people being search for by member of thegeneral public.

For example, Mr. B, a single 42 year old wants to date woman 40 yearsold with blonde hair and has mixed breed dog that only gets along withbrown MIKI dogs. Because of his schedule, he can only meet for coffee onWednesday mornings and would like to meet a woman who also likes JIMMYCHO shoes because he is a salesman for JIMMY CHO. Brown JIMMY CHO shoesare her favorite.

When Mr. B enters his search request in GOOGLE, the search resultsGOOGLE returns will include the social profile for Miss Katherine A asthe keywords and search criteria entered by Miss A will match the searchstring entered by Mr. B.

As another example, Mr. B happens to see a magazine article thatincludes a story about Miss Katherine A and her brown MIKI dog. So Mr. Bcan search for Miss Katherine A directly by name.

Although it is possible to search some of the categories and/or keywordson existing search engines and social medial sites, most sites do notallow a user to create unique and custom keywords, categories or theirown search strings and connect them directly to a person's name. Inaddition, such search engines and sites do not allow the unique level ofdetail as the present invention. For example, no site would allow acolor of a dog, or a day and time period for drinking coffee, to beentered and searched in association with a search for a person by theexact spelling of their name.

As another example, Ms. C a 50 year old divorced woman only wants todate men who are very socially connected. So she will enter a searchrequest in GOOGLE for man with a social media index 96 value of 980 ormore when a social media index 96 values include a range of zero to1000. However, the present invention is not limited to the exemplaryembodiment and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

A desired person is located directly by name and/or by unique searchwords and/or search criteria created by the desired person searched inpart with cascading searching and posted publically to search enginesand social media sites. The search results are publically viewable.However, communication with the desired person is on a private system20, 26 for which another person desiring to communicate with the desiredperson must provide login information to communicate.

“Cascading searching” includes accessing one or more search criteriaand/or unique search words in the social media ecosystem 10 andtriggering searching of another totally different set and/or a relatedset of search criteria and/or search terms that in turn triggers anothertotally different set of search criteria and/or search terms, etc.However, the present invention is not limited to this exemplaryembodiment and other embodiments and other types of searching methodscan be used to practice the invention.

In the example above, a search for brown MIKI dogs may cascade to brownJIMMY CHO shoes, a search for Wednesday mornings may cascade to coffeeand find Ms. Katherine A, etc.

Social Media Ecosystem Searching

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a flow diagram illustrating a Method 118 for socialmedia ecosystem searching. In FIG. 8A at Step 120, the first cloudapplication receives from a first target application on a first targetnetwork device for a person via the cloud communications network arequest to communicate with a desired person from the plural individualpeople located using one or more search categories or one or morekeywords uniquely created by the desired person. At Step 122, the firstcloud application automatically creates a new social commerce connectionbetween the desired person and the first user. At Step 124, the firstcloud application stores the new social commerce connection in thepre-determined search index structures in the stored plural cloudstorage objects for the desired person. At Step 126, the first cloudapplication re-calculates the social media index value associated withthe desired person based on the request to communicate from the firstuser. In FIG. 8B at Step 128, the first cloud application stores there-calculated social search index values in the pre-determined searchindex structures in the stored plural cloud storage objects for thedesired person. At Step 130, the first cloud application sends to thefirst target network device a private connection request via the cloudcommunications network. The private connection request requires thefirst user of the first target network device to enter information tolog into a private system to communicate the desired person.

Method 118 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 8A at Step 120, the first cloudapplication 30′ receives from a first target application 30 on a firsttarget network device 12 from a first user via the cloud communicationsnetwork 18 a request to communicate with a desired person from theplural individual people located using one or more search categories orone or more keywords uniquely created by the first user.

At Step 122, the first cloud application 30′ automatically creates a newsocial commerce connection 107 between the desired person and the firstuser sending the connection request from the first target network device12. In one embodiment, the new social commerce connection 107 includes asocial connection. In another embodiment, the new social commerceconnection 107 includes a social linking connection and an e-commerceconnection. In another embodiment, the new social commerce connection107 includes other types of social commerce connections 107. However,the present invention is not limited to such connection and more, feweror other social commerce connections 107 can be used to practice theinvention.

In another embodiment, at Step 122, the user of the first target networkdevice 12 manually creates new social commerce connections 107 withapplication 30 on the first target network device 12. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such connection and more, fewer orother social commerce connections 107 can be used to practice theinvention.

At Step 124, the first cloud application stores the new social commerceconnection 107 in the pre-determined search index structures 88 in thestored plural cloud storage objects 82 for the desired person.

In FIG. 8B at Step 126, the first cloud application 30′ re-calculatesthe social media index value 96 associated with the desired person basedon the request to communicate from the first user.

At Step 128, the first cloud application 30′ stores the re-calculatedsocial search index value 96 in the pre-determined search indexstructures 88 in the stored plural cloud storage objects 82 for thedesired person.

At Step 130, the first cloud application 30′ sends to the first targetnetwork device 12 a private connection request via the cloudcommunications network 18. The private connection request requires thefirst user of the first target network device 18 to enter information tolog into a private system 20, 26 to communicate the desired person.

Social Media Ecosystem Searching with a Social Media Index

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a flow diagram illustrating a Method 132 for socialmedia ecosystem searching. In FIG. 9A at Step 134, the first cloudapplication receives from a first target application on first targetnetwork device for a first user via the cloud communications network arequest to communicate with a desired person from the plural individualpeople located using a social media index value. At Step 136, the firstcloud application automatically creates a new social commerce connectionbetween the desired person and the first user sending the connectionrequest from the first target network device. At Step 138, the firstcloud application automatically stores the new social commerceconnection in the pre-determined search index structures in the storedplural cloud storage objects for the desired person. At Step 140, thefirst cloud application re-calculates the social media index valueassociated with the desired person based on the request to communicatefrom the first user. In FIG. 9B at Step 142, the first cloud applicationstores the re-calculated social search index value in the pre-determinedsearch index structures in the stored plural cloud storage object forthe desired person. At Step 144, the first cloud application sends tothe first application on the first target network device a privateconnection request via the cloud communications network. The privateconnection request requires the first user of the first target networkdevice to enter information to log into a private system to privatelycommunicate with the desired person.

Method 132 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 9A at Step 134, the first cloudapplication 30′ receives from a first target application 30 on a firsttarget network device 12 via the cloud communications network 18 arequest to communicate with a desired person from a first user locatedusing a social media index value 96.

At Step 136, the first cloud application 30′ automatically creates a newsocial commerce connection 107 between the desired person and the firstuser sending the connection request from the first target network device12.

In another embodiment, at Step 136, the user of the first target networkdevice 12 manually creates new social commerce connections 107 withapplication 30 on the first target network device 12. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such connection and more, fewer orother social commerce connections 107 can be used to practice theinvention.

At Step 138, the first cloud application 30′ automatically stores thenew social commerce connection 107 in the pre-determined search indexstructures 88 in the stored plural cloud storage objects 92 for thedesired person.

At Step 140, the first cloud application 30′ re-calculates the socialmedia index value 96 associated with the desired person based on therequest to communicate.

In FIG. 9B at Step 142, the first cloud application 30′ stores there-calculated social search index value 96 in the pre-determined searchindex structures in the stored plural cloud storage object 82 for thedesired person.

At Step 144, the first cloud application 30′ sends to the first targetapplication on the first target network device 12 a private connectionrequest via the cloud communications network 18. The private connectionrequest requires first user of the first target network device 12 toenter information to log into a private system 20, 26 to privatelycommunicate with the desired person.

Social Media Ecosystem Searching for an Advertiser

FIGS. 10A and 10B are a flow diagram illustrating a Method 146 forsocial media ecosystem searching. In FIG. 10A at Step 148, the firstcloud application receives a request from an advertiser on anothernetwork device with one or more processors to provide electronicadvertising to selected ones of the plural individual people included inthe plural pre-determined search index structures stored in the pluralcloud storage objects based on a desired social media index value and/orunique keyword or search category and/or social commerce connection. AtStep 150, the first cloud application provides electronic advertising toselected ones of the plural individual people included in the pluralpre-determined search index structures stored in the plural cloudstorage objects based on a desired social media index value and/orunique keyword or search category and/or social commerce connection. AtStep 152, the first cloud application receives one or more electronicindications from one or more selected ones of the individual people whoview the electronic advertising for the advertiser. At Step 154, thefirst cloud application automatically creates a new social commerceconnection between any of the ones of the plural individual people whoview the electronic advertising and the advertiser. In FIG. 10B at Step156, the first cloud application automatically stores the new socialcommerce connection in the pre-determined search index structure in thestored plural cloud storage objects. At Step 158, the first cloudapplication automatically provides an electronic payment to anelectronic account for any of the selected ones of the plural individualpeople who view the electronic advertising.

Method 146 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 10A at Step 148, Step 148, thefirst cloud application 30′ receives a request from an advertiser onanother network device 26 to provide electronic advertising to selectedones of the plural individual people included in the pluralpre-determined search index structures 88 stored in the plural cloudstorage objects 82 based on a desired social media index value 96 and/orunique keyword or search category and/or social commerce connection 107.

At Step 150, the first cloud application provides electronic advertisingto selected ones of the plural individual people included in the pluralpre-determined search index structures 88 stored in the plural cloudstorage objects 82 based on desired social media index value 96 and/orunique keyword or search category and/or social commerce connection 107.

At Step 152, the first cloud application 30′ receives one or moreelectronic indications from target devices 12, 14, 16 of one or moreselected ones of the individual people who view the electronicadvertising for the advertiser.

In FIG. 10B at Step 154, the first cloud application 30′ automaticallycreates a new social commerce connection 107 between any of the ones ofthe plural individual people who view the electronic advertising and theadvertiser.

At Step 156, the first cloud application 30′ automatically stores thenew social commerce connection 107 in the pre-determined search indexstructures 88 in the stored plural cloud storage objects 92.

At Step 158, the first cloud application 30′ automatically provides anelectronic payment to an electronic account for any of the selected onesof the plural individual people who view the electronic advertising.

Social Media Ecosystem Searching with a Social Commerce Connection

FIG. 11 is flow diagram illustrating a Method 160 for social mediaecosystem searching. In FIG. 11 at Step 162, the first cloud applicationreceives from a first target application on first target network devicefor a first user via the cloud communications network a request tocommunicate with a desired person from the plural individual peoplelocated using a social commerce connection. At Step 164, the first cloudapplication re-calculates the social media index value associated withthe desired person based on the request to communicate from the firstuser. At Step 166, the first cloud application stores the re-calculatedsocial search index value in the pre-determined search index structuresin the stored plural cloud storage object for the desired person. AtStep 168, the first cloud application sends to the first application onthe first target network device a private connection request via thecloud communications network. The private connection request requiresthe first user of the first target network device to enter informationto log into a private system to privately communicate with the desiredperson.

Method 160 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 11 at Step 162, the first cloudapplication 30′ receives from a first target application 30 on firsttarget network device 12 for a first user via the cloud communicationsnetwork 18 a request to communicate with a desired person from theplural individual people located using a social commerce connection 107.

At Step 164, the first cloud application 30′ re-calculates the socialmedia index value 96 associated with the desired person based on therequest to communicate from the first user.

At Step 166, the first cloud application 30′ stores the re-calculatedsocial search index value 96 in the pre-determined search indexstructures 88 in the stored plural cloud storage object 82 for thedesired person.

At Step 168, the first cloud application 30′ sends to the first targetapplication 30 on the first target network device 12 a privateconnection request via the cloud communications network 18. The privateconnection request requires the first user of the first target networkdevice 12 to enter information to log into a private system 20, 26 toprivately communicate with the desired person.

With methods 118, 132 160, a desired person is located using informationpublically to search engines and/or social media sites. However,communication with the desired person is on a private system for whichanother person desiring to communicate with the desired person mustprovide login information to communicate with the desired person. Theprivate system helps ensure that social media index values and socialcommerce connections 107 are properly recorded and/or updated and/orestablished.

Presented herein is a method and system for social media ecosystemsearching. A desired person can be searched for from public searchengines and social media sites directly by name and/or by unique searchkeywords and search categories created and publically published by thedesired person, a social media index of the desired person or a socialcommerce connection associated with the desired person. The searchresults are publically viewable. However, communication with the desiredperson located within the social media ecosystem is via a private systemin which a searcher must provide login information to privatelycommunicate with the desired person. The private system helps ensurethat social media index values and social commerce connections areproperly established, recorded and updated for the desired person andprovides a layer of security and privacy. The social media searchingecosystem is provided on a cloud communications network for mobile andnon-mobile devices.

It should be understood that the architecture, programs, processes,methods and It should be understood that the architecture, programs,processes, methods and systems described herein are not related orlimited to any particular type of computer or network system (hardwareor software), unless indicated otherwise. Various types of generalpurpose or specialized computer systems may be used with or performoperations in accordance with the teachings described herein.

In view of the wide variety of embodiments to which the principles ofthe present invention can be applied, it should be understood that theillustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken aslimiting the scope of the present invention. For example, the steps ofthe flow diagrams may be taken in sequences other than those described,and more or fewer elements may be used in the block diagrams.

While various elements of the preferred embodiments have been describedas being implemented in software, in other embodiments hardware orfirmware implementations may alternatively be used, and vice-versa.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order orelements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the term“means” in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6,and any claim without the word “means” is not so intended.

Therefore, all embodiments that come within the scope and spirit of thefollowing claims and equivalents thereto are claimed as the invention.

I claim:
 1. A method for social media ecosystem searching, comprising:receiving a plurality electronic information from a plurality of targetapplications on a plurality of target network devices each with one ormore processors on a first cloud application stored in a firstnon-transitory computer readable medium on a cloud server network devicewith the one or more processors via a cloud communications network for asocial media ecosystem comprising: one or more public communicationnetworks, one or more private networks, one or more community networksand one or more hybrid networks, wherein the plurality of electronicinformation includes a plurality of personal electronic informationinput into the plurality of target network devices by a plurality ofindividual people using search categories and search keywords uniquelycreated by the plurality of individual people; storing from the firstcloud application the received plurality of electronic information forthe plurality of individual people in a plurality of pre-determinedsearch index structures in a plurality of cloud storage objects;calculating from the first cloud application a plurality of socialsearch index values for the plurality of pre-determined search indexstructures with the electronic information from the stored plurality ofcloud storage objects; storing from the first cloud application thecalculated social search index values in the plurality of pre-determinedsearch index structures in the stored plurality of cloud storageobjects; and providing access from the first cloud application to aplurality of public search engines and to a plurality of social mediasites via the cloud communications network the plurality ofpre-determined search index structures stored in the plurality of cloudstorage objects and accepting search requests for any of the pluralityof individual people, thereby allowing any other person on the cloudcommunications network to publically search for and privatelycommunicate with any of the plurality of individual people directly byname or by using the search categories and keywords uniquely created bythe plurality of individual people or by social search index valuescalculated for the plurality of individual people.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving on the first cloud applicationfrom a first target application on a first target network device via thecloud communications network a request to communicate with a desiredperson from the plurality of individual people located using one or moresearch categories or one or more keywords uniquely created by thedesired person; creating automatically from the first cloud applicationa new social commerce connection between the desired person and a firstuser sending the connection request from the first target networkdevice; storing from the first cloud application the new social commerceconnection in a pre-determined search index structures in the storedcloud storage objects for the desired person; re-calculatingautomatically from the first cloud application the social media indexvalue associated with the desired person based on the request tocommunicate; storing from the first cloud application the re-calculatedsocial search index values in the pre-determined search index structurein the stored cloud storage objects for the desired person; and sendingfrom the first cloud application to the first application on the firsttarget network device a private connection request via the cloudcommunications network, wherein the private connection request requiresa user of the first target network device to enter information to loginto a private system to privately communicate the desired person. 3.The method of claim 2 wherein the first target network device is asmartphone or a tablet computer and the first target application is asmart application for the smartphone or tablet computer.
 4. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: receiving on the first cloud applicationfrom a first target application on a first target network device via thecloud communications network a request to communicate with a desiredperson from the plurality of individual people located using a socialmedia index value; creating automatically from the first cloudapplication a new social commerce connection between the desired personand a person sending the connection request from the first targetnetwork device; storing from the first cloud application the new socialcommerce connection in a pre-determined search index structure in storedcloud storage objects for desired person; re-calculating automaticallyfrom the first cloud application the social media index value associatedwith the desired person based on the request to communicate; storingfrom the first cloud application the re-calculated social search indexvalues in the pre-determined search index structure in the stored cloudstorage objects for the desired person; and sending from the first cloudapplication to the first target application on the first target networkdevice a private connection request via the cloud communicationsnetwork, wherein the private connection request requires a user of thefirst target network device to enter information to log into a privatesystem to privately communicate the desired person.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving on the first cloud applicationfrom a first target application on a first target network device via thecloud communications network a request to communicate with a desiredperson from the plurality of individual people located using a socialcommerce connection; re-calculating automatically from the first cloudapplication the social media index value associated with the desiredperson based on the request to communicate; storing from the first cloudapplication the re-calculated social search index values in thepre-determined search index structure in the stored cloud storageobjects for the desired person; and sending from the first cloudapplication to the first target application on the first target networkdevice a private connection request via the cloud communicationsnetwork, wherein the private connection request requires a user of thefirst target network device to enter information to log into a privatesystem to privately communicate the desired person.
 6. The method ofclaim 5 wherein the social commerce connection includes a social linkingconnection and an e-commerce connection.
 7. The method of claim 1further comprising: receiving on the first cloud application from anadvertiser on another network device with one or more processors arequest to provide electronic advertising to selected ones of theplurality of individual people included in the plurality ofpre-determined search index structures stored in the plurality of cloudstorage objects based on a desired social media index value or uniquesearch keywords or search criteria created by plurality of individualpeople or social commerce connection; providing from the first cloudapplication electronic advertising to selected ones of the targetnetwork devices of the plurality of individual people included in theplurality of pre-determined search index structures stored in theplurality of cloud storage objects based on the desired social mediaindex value or unique search keywords or search criteria created byplurality of individual people or social commerce connection; receivingon the first cloud application one or more electronic indications fromone or more selected ones of the target network devices of theindividual people who view the electronic advertising for theadvertiser; creating automatically from the first cloud application anew social commerce connection between any of the ones of the pluralityof individual people who view the electronic advertising and theadvertiser; and providing from the first cloud application an electronicpayment to an electronic account on the first cloud server networkdevice for any of the selected ones of the plurality of individualpeople who view the electronic advertising.
 8. The method of claim 1wherein the step of storing from the first cloud application thereceived plurality of electronic information for the plurality ofindividual people in a plurality of pre-determined search indexstructures in a plurality of cloud storage objects includes: translatingautomatically from the first cloud application the received plurality ofinformation into a plurality of different supported languages; andstoring from the first cloud application the translated plurality ofinformation in the plurality of cloud storage objects, wherein thetranslated plurality of information is available globally for searchingin plurality of supported languages from anywhere on the cloudcommunications network.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the socialmedia ecosystem includes a community of participates and searchers inconjunction with technology components of a cloud communicationsenvironment comprising server network devices, gateways, routers,switches, wired interfaces, wireless interfaces and target networkdevices interacting and cooperating as a social media ecosystem.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the social media index includes at least afour-dimensional (4D) or four deep social media index.
 11. The method ofclaim 1 wherein a desired person is located using unique search words orsearch criteria created by the desired person and with cascadingsearching and posted publically for review to public search engines andsocial media sites and wherein communication with the desired person ison a private system for which another person desiring to privatelycommunicate with the desired person must provide login information tocommunicate, thereby ensuring a social media index value and socialcommerce connections for the desired person are properly updated andestablished.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the cloud storage objectincludes Representational state transfer (REST), Simple Object AccessProtocol (SOAP), or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) cloudstorage objects.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein the target networkdevices include smartphones and tablet computers.
 14. The method ofclaim 13 wherein the target network devices include a smart applicationfor social media ecosystem searching.
 15. The method of claim 1 thecloud server network device and the plurality of target network devicesinclude a wireless networking interface comprising: a Wireless PersonalArea Network (WPAN), Radio Frequency (RF), IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b,802.11g, 802.11n, 802.15.4 (ZigBee), 802.16a, 802.16g, Wireless Fidelity(WiFi), High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network (HIPERMAN) RFHome, Bluetooth, Infrared (IrDA), Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID),Internet Protocol (IP), Voice over IP (VoIP), Short Message Service(SMS) or Instant Message (IM), Worldwide Interoperability for MicrowaveAccess (WiMax) with 4^(th) generation (4G) or faster wireless speeds, aNear Field Communications (NFC), or a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) wirelessnetworking interface for communicating with the cloud communicationsnetwork.
 16. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing accessfrom the first cloud application to the plurality of public searchengines and to the plurality of social media sites via the cloudcommunications network, includes providing access to a plurality ofpublic search engines including general search engines and verticalsearch engine services and the plurality of social media sites include aplurality of social networking sites, social couponing sites and socialdating web-sites and the cloud communications network further includescable television networks (CATV), satellite television networks (SATV),three-dimensional television (3DTV) networks, Internet televisionnetworks, Web-TV networks or Internet Protocol Television (IPtv)networks.
 17. The method of claim 1 wherein the cloud communicationsnetwork includes on-demand social media ecosystem search services,broadband network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity andmeasured network services for social media ecosystem search services.18. The method of claim 1 wherein the first cloud application offers acloud computing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), a cloud Platform asa Service (PaaS) and offers a Specific cloud software service as aService (SaaS) including a specific cloud software service for socialmedia ecosystem searching.
 19. A non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored therein a plurality of instructions for causing one ormore processors on one or more network devices for executing the stepsof: receiving a plurality electronic information from a plurality oftarget applications on a plurality target network devices each with oneor more processors on a first cloud application stored in a firstnon-transitory computer readable medium on a cloud server network devicewith the one or more processors via a cloud communications networkcomprising: one or more public communication networks, one or moreprivate networks, one or more community networks and one or more hybridnetworks, wherein the plurality of electronic information includes aplurality of personal electronic information input into the plurality oftarget network devices by a plurality of individual people using searchcategories and search keywords uniquely created by the plurality ofindividual people; storing from the first cloud application the receivedplurality of electronic information for the plurality of individualpeople in a plurality of pre-determined search index structures in aplurality of cloud storage objects; calculating from the first cloudapplication a plurality of social search index values for the pluralityof pre-determined search index structures with the electronicinformation from the stored plurality of cloud storage objects; storingfrom the first cloud application the calculated social search indexvalues in the plurality of pre-determined search index structures in thestored plurality of cloud storage objects; translating from the firstcloud application the received plurality of information into a pluralityof different supported languages; storing from the first cloudapplication the translated plurality of information in the plurality ofcloud storage objects, wherein the translated plurality of informationis available globally for searching in plurality of supported languagesfrom anywhere on the cloud communications network; providing access fromthe first cloud application to a plurality of public search engines andto a plurality of social media sites via the cloud communicationsnetwork the plurality of pre-determined search index structures storedin the plurality of cloud storage objects and accepting search requestsfor any of the plurality of individual people, thereby allowing anyother person on the cloud communications network to publically searchfor any of the plurality of individual people using the searchcategories and keywords uniquely created by the plurality of individualpeople or by social search index values calculated for the plurality ofindividual people; receiving on the first cloud application from a firsttarget application on first target network device via the cloudcommunications network a request to communicate with a desired personfrom the plurality of individual people using one or more searchcategories or one or more keywords uniquely created by the desiredperson or a social media index value or a social commerce connection ofthe desired person; creating automatically from the first cloudapplication a new social commerce connection between the desired personand a first user sending the connection request from the first targetnetwork device; storing from the first cloud application the new socialcommerce connection in a pre-determined search index structures in thestored cloud storage objects for the desired person; re-calculating fromthe first cloud application the social media index value associated withthe desired person based on the request to communicate; storing from thefirst cloud application the re-calculated social search index values inthe pre-determined search index structure in the stored cloud storageobjects for the desired person; sending from the first cloud applicationto the first application on the first target network device a privateconnection request via the cloud communications network, wherein theprivate connection request requires a user of the first target networkdevice to enter information to log into a private system to privatelycommunicate the desired person; receiving on the first cloud applicationfrom an advertiser on another network device with one or more processorsa request to provide electronic advertising to selected ones of theplurality of individual people included in the plurality ofpre-determined search index structures stored in the plurality of cloudstorage objects based on a desired social media index value or uniquesearch keywords or search criteria created by plurality of individualpeople or social commerce connection; providing from the first cloudapplication electronic advertising to selected ones of the targetnetwork devices of the plurality of individual people included in theplurality of pre-determined search index structures stored in theplurality of cloud storage objects based on the desired social mediaindex value or unique search keywords or search criteria created byplurality of individual people or social commerce connection; receivingon the first cloud application one or more electronic indications fromone or more selected ones of the target network devices of theindividual people who view the electronic advertising for theadvertiser; creating automatically from the first cloud application anew social commerce connection between any of the ones of the pluralityof individual people who view the electronic advertising and theadvertiser; and providing from the first cloud application an electronicpayment to an electronic account on the first cloud server networkdevice for any of the selected ones of the plurality of individualpeople who view the electronic advertising.
 20. A system for socialmedia ecosystem searching, comprising in combination: one or morenetwork devices with one or more processors including a plurality ofinstructions configured for: for receiving a plurality electronicinformation from a plurality of target applications on a pluralitytarget network devices each with one or more processors on a first cloudapplication stored in a first non-transitory computer readable medium ona cloud server network device with the one or more processors via acloud communications network comprising: one or more publiccommunication networks, one or more private networks, one or morecommunity networks and one or more hybrid networks, wherein theplurality of electronic information includes a plurality of personalelectronic information input into the plurality of target networkdevices by a plurality of individual people using search categories andsearch keywords uniquely created by the plurality of individual people;for storing from the first cloud application the received plurality ofelectronic information for the plurality of individual people in aplurality of pre-determined search index structures in a plurality ofcloud storage objects; for calculating from the first cloud applicationa plurality of social search index values for the plurality ofpre-determined search index structures with the electronic informationfrom the stored plurality of cloud storage objects; for storing from thefirst cloud application the calculated social search index values in theplurality of pre-determined search index structures in the storedplurality of cloud storage objects; for translating from the first cloudapplication the received plurality of information into a plurality ofdifferent supported languages; for storing from the first cloudapplication the translated plurality of information in the plurality ofcloud storage objects, wherein the translated plurality of informationis available globally for searching in plurality of supported languagesfrom anywhere on the cloud communications network; for providing accessfrom the first cloud application to a plurality of public search enginesand to a plurality of social media sites via the cloud communicationsnetwork the plurality of pre-determined search index structures storedin the plurality of cloud storage objects and accepting search requestsfor any of the plurality of individual people, thereby allowing anyother person on the cloud communications network to publically searchfor any of the plurality of individual people using the searchcategories and keywords uniquely created by the plurality of individualpeople or by social search index values calculated for the plurality ofindividual people; for receiving on the first cloud application from afirst target application on first target network device via the cloudcommunications network a request to communicate with a desired personfrom the plurality of individual people using one or more searchcategories or one or more keywords uniquely created by the desiredperson or a social media index value or a social commerce connection ofthe desired person; for creating automatically from the first cloudapplication a new social commerce connection between the desired personand a first user sending the connection request from the first targetnetwork device; for storing from the first cloud application the newsocial commerce connection in a pre-determined search index structuresin the stored cloud storage objects for the desired person; forre-calculating from the first cloud application the social media indexvalue associated with the desired person based on the request tocommunicate; for storing from the first cloud application there-calculated social search index values in the pre-determined searchindex structure in the stored cloud storage objects for the desiredperson; for sending from the first cloud application to the firstapplication on the first target network device a private connectionrequest via the cloud communications network, wherein the privateconnection request requires a user of the first target network device toenter information to log into a private system to privately communicatethe desired person; for receiving on the first cloud application from anadvertiser on another network device with one or more processors arequest to provide electronic advertising to selected ones of theplurality of individual people included in the plurality ofpre-determined search index structures stored in the plurality of cloudstorage objects based on a desired social media index value or uniquesearch keywords or search criteria created by plurality of individualpeople or social commerce connection; for providing from the first cloudapplication electronic advertising to selected ones of the targetnetwork devices of the plurality of individual people included in theplurality of pre-determined search index structures stored in theplurality of cloud storage objects based on the desired social mediaindex value or unique search keywords or search criteria created byplurality of individual people or social commerce connection; forreceiving on the first cloud application one or more electronicindications from one or more selected ones of the target network devicesof the individual people who view the electronic advertising for theadvertiser; for creating automatically from the first cloud applicationa new social commerce connection between any of the ones of theplurality of individual people who view the electronic advertising andthe advertiser; and for providing from the first cloud application anelectronic payment to an electronic account on the first cloud servernetwork device for any of the selected ones of the plurality ofindividual people who view the electronic advertising.